Entertainment

Arundhati Roy wins PEN Pinter Prize for ‘powerful voice’

Published

1 year ago

June 28, 2024

editor

Indian author Arundhati Roy has said that she is “delighted” to have been awarded this year’s PEN Pinter Prize.

Set up in memory of playwright Harold Pinter, the award is for writers of “outstanding literary merit” who take an “unflinching” look at the world.

The announcement comes weeks after officials in India approved action against Roy under anti-terror laws for comments she made 14 years ago.

Roy is a Booker Prize-winning author and has written about human rights issues in India as well as war and capitalism globally.

English PEN chair Ruth Borthwick praised Roy for telling “urgent stories of injustice with wit and beauty”.

“While India remains an important focus, she is truly an internationalist thinker, and her powerful voice is not to be silenced,” Borthwick said.

Roy, 62, is an outspoken writer and activist and could face prosecution by the Narendra Modi government for comments she made in 2010 about Kashmir – a controversial topic in India.

She is a polarising figure and has often been targeted by right-wing groups for her speeches and writings.

Roy has been outspoken in her criticism about the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government’s alleged targeting of Muslims and has also spoken about India’s declining press freedoms during Mr Modi’s tenure.

She will receive the PEN Pinter Prize on 10 October in a ceremony co-hosted by the British Library.

The prize was set up in 2009 by English PEN, a charity that says it defends freedom of expression and celebrates literature.

Previous winners include Michael Rosen, Malorie Blackman, Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, Tom Stoppard and Carol Ann Duffy.

On winning the prize, Roy said: “I wish Harold Pinter were with us today to write about the almost incomprehensible turn the world is taking. Since he isn’t, some of us must do our utmost to try to fill his shoes.”

Roy has written numerous books and non-fiction essays, but she is best known for her novel, The God of Small Things, which won the Booker Prize in 1997.

(BBC News)

Entertainment

‘Diddy’ denied bail after being cleared of most serious charges

Published

6 hours ago

July 3, 2025

editor

A judge has denied bail to Sean “Diddy” Combs after a jury convicted the hip-hop mogul of transportation to engage in prostitution, but acquitted him of the most serious charges: racketeering and sex-trafficking.

Lawyers for the recording artist had argued he posed no flight risk, pointing out his jet is being chartered in Hawaii.

But Judge Arun Subramanian cited Combs’ history of violence as he ruled the rapper must remain behind bars until sentencing later this year when he faces up to 20 years in prison.

In the nearly two-month federal trial in New York City, prosecutors accused Combs of using his celebrity status and business empire to run a criminal enterprise to sex traffic women.

A panel of 12 jurors deliberated for 13 hours before acquitting Combs of three of the most serious five charges.

He will continue to be held at the same federal jail in Brooklyn where he has been detained since last September.

The sentencing was tentatively scheduled for 3 October.

(BBC News)

Entertainment

SRK confirmed as special guest at “City of Dreams” launch

Published

1 day ago

July 2, 2025

editor

It has been officially announced that Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan will indeed be joining the grand opening of the “City of Dreams Sri Lanka” on Aug. 02 as a special guest.

The “City of Dreams Sri Lanka” has confirmed this in a statement on Facebook.

Related News :

Bollywood icon SRK to visit SL?

Entertainment

Court order issued against ‘Eh Yaye’ song

Published

1 day ago

July 2, 2025

editor

The Commercial High Court has issued an interim injunction order, preventing popular artistes Romaine Willis and Mass Ramli Miskin (DJ Mass) from performing, reproducing and distributing the song ‘Eh Yaye’.

Colombo Commercial High Court Judge Priyantha Fernando issued the order after the Plaint filed under the Intellectual Property Act by popular singer Corrine Almeida.

The case also alleges that the musical composition and the lyrics of the song ‘Eh Yaye’ were substantially similar to the song ‘Api Natamu’.

Naming Willis and DJ Mass as defendants, the plaintiff Corrine Almeida had also stated that she is the owner of the copyright and economic rights to the musical composition and lyrics of her song titled “Api Natamu”.

The plaintiff instituted action in terms of the Intellectual Property Act, No. 36 of 2003 alleging that the musical composition and the lyrics of ‘Eh Yaye’ were substantially similar to the ‘Api Natamu’ song.

(Source : Dailymirror.lk)